CORNELIS VAN HAARLEM Dutch painter (b. 1562, Haarlem, d. 1638,
Dutch painter and draughtsman, was one of the leading Northern Mannerist artists in The Netherlands, and an important forerunner of Frans Hals as a portraitist. Cornelis Corneliszoon was a member of the Mannerist school of Haarlem, which was highly influenced by the work of Bartholomeus Spranger, whose drawings were brought to Haarlem by Carel van Mander in 1585, and had a strong immediate effect.[1] He painted mainly portraits as well as mythological and Biblical subjects. Initially Corneliszoon painted large-size, highly stylized works with Italianate nudes in twisted poses with a grotesque, unnatural anatomy. Later, his style changed to one based on the Netherlandish realist tradition. When his parents fled Haarlem in 1572, as the Spanish army laid siege to the city during the Eighty Years' War, Corneliszoon remained behind and was raised by the painter Pieter Pietersz., his first teacher. Later, Corneliszoon studied in Rouen, France and Antwerp, Belgium. Corneliszoon in 1583 received his first official commission from the city of Haarlem, a militia company portrait, the Banquet of the Haarlem Civic Guard. He later became city painter of Haarlem and received numerous official commissions. As a portrait painter, both of groups and individuals, he was an important influence on Frans Hals. Together with Carel van Mander, Hendrick Goltzius and other artists, Corneliszoon formed the Haarlem Academy or "Haarlem Mannerists". Probably this was a very informal grouping, perhaps meeting to draw nude models, and certainly to exchange artistic views.[2] Corneliszoon also played a role in reorganizing the Haarlem artists' and artisans' Guild of St. Luke, eliminating its medieval organization and raising the status of the artists. Corneliszoon married Maritgen Arentsdr Deyman, the daughter of a mayor of Haarlem, sometime before 1603. The Monk and the Nun ds 1591
Oil on canvas
Frans Halsmuseum, Haarlem
